Thursday, July 14, 2016

Railways of Greece, Greece

Recently Dimitris was very kind to give me these two fabulous FDCs, and being that (as I've recently realized) I haven't posted any Greek stamps before, I think that this is like the perfect way for that first post :)

Throughout their history, the railways have fundamentally changed the way people communicate, contributing decisively to the development and modernization of Greek society, significantly assisting the national war effort, vigorously promoting the country's economic growth, and becoming a source of inspiration for intellectual creators and artists.

A leading role in this effort was played by steam locomotives, which in their century-long history in Greece proved equal to the challenge of smoothly transporting the trains throughout the network. Of the dozens of steam locomotive series used in Greece, four are now pictured on stamps as a small tribute to the country's rich railway history.

They are:
- the American G401-420, the first powerful steam locomotives in Greece;
- the Austrian La901-940, which played a leading role in the struggles of the Second World War;
- the French Z501-517, which tirelessly traversed the Peloponnese for decades;
- and the German 40-45, the most powerful steam locomotives on the Thessaly network.

(original text written by Giorgos Handrinos, Association of Friends of the Railway)

The stamps were issued on 30 March 2015. Some websites say they are commemoratives, some say they are definitives...go figure...

Thanks a million to Dimitris for such a contribution to my collection!